Process of laying concrete floors and the like.



, P. M. BRUNER.

PROCESS 0F LAYING CONCRETE FLOORS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED PEB. 29, 1912. 4 LQKQW. Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

PRESTON MARTN BRUNER, 01E ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

PROCESS OF'LYING- CONCRETE FLOORS ANI? THE LIKE.

Specilcation` of LettersA Patent. j

Patented `web. 9, MM5..

Application 'ledFebruary 29, 1912.v Serial No. 680,610.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, PRESTON M. BRUNER, a lcitizen of the United Statesh the\ci`ty of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new yand `useful llmprovements in Processes of Laying Concrete Floors and the like, of which the `following is a specification.

rll`his invention relatesmore especially to the provision for an improved wearing surfacel of cement on top of old concrete floors, and especially on those constructed of reinforced concrete.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved floor of this character which will have a minimum degree of porosity and sponginess, and which will not become sandy or crumble away in the manner which is so prevalent at the present time.

Other and further objects will appear in the specication and be specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings exemplifying the invention, and in which,

Figure l is a vertical section of a Hoor constructed according to my -improved process. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, showing the various strata broken away to more clearly illustrate the idea.

Obviously, reinforced concrete itself does not form a satisfactory wearing surface for a floor under any circumstances. It has, therefore, become customary either to con- -struct a wooden floor above the concrete, or

to cover the reinforced concrete with an independent layer of a strong concrete mixture from three to four inches thick. In doing this, a dead load of from forty to ift-y pounds per square foot is placed on the Hoors 'of-a building merely to provlde a satisfactory wearing surface. Even aside from this serious drawback, there are numerous other objections to heavy cement ioors which are laid according to present well-known processes. Thus,v in laying such a Hoor, the cement must be deposited in -a very moist condition in order to be readily molded into the desired form, after which, considerable time must elapse to permit the material to dry out suiliciently ito adapt it to v properly receive the finishing manipulations. This consideration oftentimes necessita'tes the idleness of a considerable I' ang of men who must be on hand and rea -y vto Aperfect the finishing operation upon the residing in floor within a short space of time, commencing with a certain critical moment in the setting of the cement.. As la result, contractors for this class of Work are subjected to much annoyance and considerable expense. Moreover, method generally become porous and spon so that even the mere sweeping of the floor detaches considerable dust and line particles, which are very injurious to machinery, merchandise, etc., and moreover cause the rapid deterioration of the floor. The floor, in fact, becomes sandy, is easily broken, and as a rule crumbles readily. 0f shifts-for overcoming these difficulties, the employment l0f paints to cover, or harden, as been one form, and the use of various nostrums, mixed with the concrete, has been resorted to 4with the idea of binding the top surface'securely, and forming a hardtop surface. Where a thin wearing stratum maybe laid, we overcome the objections to the yheavy cement floor, but this thin layer is not adapted to withstand the ordinary blows or strains to which it is sure to be floors constructed by thisv the make-- subjected, unless it is combined thoroughly if with the concrete below it and thus is made an integral part in respect to the strength and solidity of the original structure. 10bviously, aA heavy stratum is employed to obtain the necessary strength without depending so ymuch upon its adhesion. to the con crete stratum therebelow. Even a thin layer of this character is more or less subject to becoming dusty or sandy on top when in use.

To eliminate all of the above mentioned ditlioulties and objections with thin or heavy' coats, my improved process contemplates laying such coat upon the conc-rete below after the under concrete has been previously prepared in such la `manner as to cause the upper layer tocombine with it -to form an integral :partthereof, so as to partake of its inherent strength and solidity. In doing this, my .process contemplates lthe elimination of all excess moisture while the cement is being compressed sufficiently so that the wearing layer is, vin avery short space of time, A prepared to be finished smoothly and of sufiicientstiness to be walked upon. Accordi-ng to :this method, a wearing coat can be readily placed on the desired level or evenness, andthen manipulated to-a perifeetlnish without disturbing the adhesion between it and the under ying concrete Y structure. Most important of all, the entire other water-tight material, is first of all thoroughly cleaned, so that all loose, soft material, mortar, dust, and dirt is removed; and if the top surface of the same is undel sirably smooth, or glassy, it is first roughen'ed, thus providing it with projections and indentations, indicated at 3 in Fig. l. When -this operation has been completed, a thin slush 5 (see Fig. l) of rich fresh cementing material, made alkaline with potash or soda lye, is poured thereon and swept Vback and forth until itis thoroughly/'worked into the pores of the old concrete. While this slush is yet in `the slushy and wet state, I place thereover a layer 4 of self-hardening material, or wearing surface.

After the wearing stratum has been properly laid, I lay thereon a fabric or netting, such as woven burlap, cheesecloth, or the like, so as to cover the entire surface. On this fabric or webbing 6,-a dry layer of any suitable water-absorbing material 7 such as Portland cement with suitable aggregates or Sorel cement with suitable aggregates is .placedrfor the purpose of taking up quickly the excess of water which is present 1n the wearing stratum 4, and which had been placed in such wearing stratum for the purpose of meeting the requirements connected with laying such surface. After the dry layer 7 has absorbed ,th-.e excess ofl Water from the wearing stratum 4, said layer 7 is removed from the wearing stratum by lifting the fabric 6. Preferably, this absorbent materlal is composed ef the same material used as a wearingsurface, but dry, and this is afterward used to form the Wearing coat or topping of the next portion of the work.

The action of this absorbent layer is imme' diate andl rapid,and prepares. the wearing `stratum to be' nally finished within the space of from ten to fifteen minutes after the same has been'deposited. .TheI liquid absorbed out of the-first batch is Vthus transferred as part ofthe water required for plasticity of the topping which is to form the next batch.y The'damp material is therevfore taken v,up and -put in the mixing box and worked to a thin paste by the addition of a vlittle more liquid, after which it is spread -the prevalent method of constructing the wearing strata ordinarily involves a long delay in the finishing, often for hours, to permit the excess of liquid to become sufiiciently absorbed preliminary to the finishing operations which must then be carried qn so hurriedly and violently that the cement bond between the strata land 4 is commonly ruptured and ruined. Moreover, the incipient crystallization of the top of the wearing coat is broken up and partly ruined if disturbed so long after the same was placed.

What I claim is:

l. The herein described process of laying cement which consists in applying, upon a suitable foundation, a wet plastic layer of material, and then applying thereover a dry- .ing layer of finely divided absorbent material with an intervening sheet of porous fabric adapted to keep the drying layer physically separate from the plastic material while leavin it in drying relation thereto, and therea tei` removing the sheet and drying layer. y

2. The herein described process of laying cement in sections which consists in applying, upon one section of a suitable foundation, a wet plastic layer of material consisting of a self hardening binder and suitable filler, and then applying over said section a drying layer of finely divided absorbent material composed of the said self-hardening binder material and said filler with an intervening sheet of porous fabric adapted to keep the drying layer physically separate from the plastic material while leaving it in drying relation thereto, permitting such dryingrelation to exist until the drying layer absorbs requisite moisture from the plastic section and then mixing the material of the drying layer with more moisture to produce the plastlc topping material for the next section.

PRESTON MARTIN BRUNER. In presenc of- M. C. AMMER,

H. G. FLETCHER.. 

